The sun is shining, the leaves are blowing, and waves are lapping gently onto the sandy shoreline.  In the world of DayZ, however, there is something that distracts players from the beautifully constructed environment.  Most of the residents that inhabit this Russian landmass known as Chernarus have all been transformed into crazed, blood thirsty zombies.  A bit of an inconvenience to be honest.  Thankfully, there are other survivors as well, and some might be able to help but others may just fancy the contents of player’s backpacks.

DayZ sets itself apart from many other zombie games.  Instead of opting for the common “run and gun” style, DayZ has taken a much slower and realistic approach.  A very convincing post-apocalyptic environment has been created as a result of this game’s style.  The objective in DayZ is to simply survive in world now controlled by the dead and those who carry the biggest guns.

From a technical standpoint, DayZ is a multiplayer game that has made the best out of a PC game engine that is somewhat dated. However, despite not having things like ragdoll effects, the graphics and animations look very polished and very fluid.  Currently, there are two versions of this game available.  The first way to experience this game is by playing the original version, an in-depth modification to a combat sim known as Arma II and its spin off, Arma II Operation Arrowhead. The mod can be downloaded for free. However, the base games required cost about forty dollars for the pair.  Currently, the mod version of the games is much more refined and has less glitches than option number two.  The standalone version of this game has been released, but is currently in alpha. This means that the game is not actually finished but has enough elements working to be a basic functioning game.  The standalone has taken the realism one step further with its improved inventory system and player animations, but lacks the variety of weapons and vehicles that could be scavenged in the original mod.

Overall, despite still being a working in progress, DayZ is evolving into one of the best zombie games currently on the market.